Kansas moves to No. 1 in poll
LAWRENCE, KAN. >> Kansas could have rested easy after clinching a share of its 13th straight Big 12 title.
Instead, the Jayhawks hit the road to beat Texas on Saturday, clinching the outright championship with two games left in the regular season. And when top-ranked Gonzaga and second-ranked Villanova dropped games last week, it meant the Jayhawks ascended to the top of The Associated Press poll. So much for taking it easy. The Jayhawks (26-3) moved up two places to the top spot, receiving 58 first-place votes Monday from the 65-member national media panel. They spent five weeks at No. 1 last season, including the final three polls, but became the sixth No. 1 this season by moving to the top spot for the first time.
“It feels pretty great,” Kansas freshman Josh Jackson said, “but like our coaches told us, we don’t feel like we’ve done anything we weren’t supposed to do.”
Villanova (27-3) remained second and received two first-place votes, despite losing to Butler and beating Creighton last week. The win over the Bluejays allowed the reigning national champions to clinch their fourth straight Big East regular-season championship.
UCLA (26-3) moved up from fifth to third and earned three first-place nods after its win over Arizona on Saturday. It was only the second time in 69 games the Wildcats have lost at the McKale Center.
Gonzaga (29-1) fell to No. 4 after losing its first game of the season, an upset by BYU at home on Saturday. The Zags, who had been No. 1 for the last four polls, still received two first-place votes as they turns their attention to the West Coast Conference Tournament on Saturday.
North Carolina moved from eighth to fifth after clinching a share of the ACC title, while Oregon, Arizona, Louisville, Kentucky and West Virginia rounded out the top 10.
Baylor, which was No. 1 earlier this season, dropped two more spots after losing at Iowa State over the weekend. The Bears were followed by Florida, Butler — up nine spots thanks in part to its victory over Villanova — SMU, Florida State, Purdue, Duke, Cincinnati, Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s.
The last five were Wichita State, Wisconsin, Virginia and newcomers Iowa State and Miami.
The Cyclones (19-9), who were ranked for the first six polls of the season, moved back into the Top 25 after their win over the Bears. The Hurricanes (20-8), who were ranked most of last season and reached as high as seventh, moved into the poll after Saturday’s victory over Duke.
Creighton (22-7) dropped out for the first time this season after losses to Providence and Villanova, and Maryland (22-7) tumbled out after losses to Minnesota and Iowa.